Friday Goodness
Happy Friday, camerados! I didn’t get a chance for a proper blog this week, so this is all you get. I know, it’s painful and makes you question the meaning of life, but there you have it. An update: last week I mentioned Humans of New York being on sale as part of my Friday Goodness – I am happy to report that it is #1 on the NY Times Bestseller list. Woot, woot and bravo Brandon Stanton! It makes me happy that so many people also recognize the beauty of humanity. It seems like, well duh, but humanity can be a drag sometimes. So, without further ado:
1. The Students at Wheelock College
This past Wednesday I was invited to do a reading of my debut novel SOMETHING REAL at Wheelock and have a Q&A about YA afterwards. It was AWESOME. More on the whole experience later, but I just wanted to shout out these incredible students. I have never heard such thoughtful questions in any Q&A I’ve been to and I was really impressed by their curiosity and passion for such a wide range of things. Also, a whole aesthetics class came, which was pretty cool – not just that the whole class came, but that they have a class on aesthetics. Big love to everyone who came out!
So, I didn’t really start watching TV until I graduated college and Netflix finally got its claws in me. Since then, I’ve watched way more than I’d like to admit. Recently, one of my favorite things to do has been to watch shows that were either on when I was a teenager or shows that feel specifically YA. I’ve already given up on The Vampire Diaries, but I am happy to report that Freaks and Geeks is great fun. Not only are there some really honest portrayals of teen life, but the acting is good and I’m invested in the characters. Plus, it’s funny.
3. Roar /Katy Perry
I was going to attach a video to this, but it was, um, not to my aesthetic taste, so instead I recommend checking this out on Spotify. Although, let’s be honest, put any pop station on for two seconds and you’ll hear it. I can’t help it – I like this song! I’m a sucker for anthem/girl power songs. They’re so YA and they make you want to break up with your boyfriend and then immediately take over the world. Side note: not gonna lie, I kinda like Miley’s “Wrecking Ball” song, too. Look, my favorite band is Radiohead and usually I have excellent taste in music but it’s Friday and I can listen to shitty pop if I want to.
4. Robin Wasserman’s essay on Stephen King
So, every week The Atlantic has a cool essay where writers discuss their favorite passages. I blogged about Sherman Alexie’s last week, but today I suggest reading YA novelist Robin Wasserman’s essay on how influential Stephen King was to her as a teen and now as a writer. I had the opportunity to hear her read from her new book and talk about King a bit – she’s one cool lady. This is just an excellent essay, both rhetorically and thematically. She’s got lots of great stuff to say about the nature of adolescence, the power of horror, and why Stephen King writes teens so well.
I went to dinner last week with a friend of mine from Ireland and she was amazed by our country’s obsession with pumpkins, especially this time of year. Well, our obsession just got better: pumpkin M&M’s, yo! Enough said.
